


Home for the Holidays

by AmmyPie



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Adventure, Friendship/Love, Gen, Mystery, Original Character(s), Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-12
Updated: 2016-10-18
Packaged: 2018-08-21 23:40:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8264677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmmyPie/pseuds/AmmyPie
Summary: A young woman returns home for the holidays and is introduced to her niece and nephew's imaginary friend. At first, it's a game, but could this 'Jack' be real? And when something goes terribly wrong, will she be able to turn to him for help?





	1. A Welcome Home

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Let me know what you think! I try to add to the story every free moment I have. I have almost every point planned out, it's just writing it while I'm in school that causes a problem. As always -
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians, or the characters contained therein.

Home for the Holidays

* * *

Glancing from one side of the road to another, a young woman drove slowly as children ran from home to home with friends, playing in the snow. She had been cautious to look out for any those not being mindful enough of the road. Brushing a strand of light brown bangs out if her eyes, she spotted the house she was looking for. A large taupe colored home came into view, as did the two children playing outside. The woman smiled to herself as she pulled into the icy driveway. The boy and little girl looked up and shouted, waving frantically. With a smile plastered on the young woman's face, she quickly jumped out of her small car and raced over to hug the two.

"Aunt Andy!" The little girl screeched in the young woman's ear, causing her to grimace slightly as a slightly older man came out of the house.

"Andy! You finally made it! How were the roads? I know we got one heck of a snow storm last night," he continued with a large smile on his face. He quickly wrapped the young woman in a hug.

"Hey Simon! It wasn't so bad," Andy said and giggled as she tried to pry the little girl off her leg. Simon laughed and picked up the little girl,

"Come on Cathy, don't trip Aunt Andy. Mark? Can you help your aunt with her stuff?" Andy put her hands up,

"Aw, it's really not a big deal, it's just one bag." She tried to wave the boy off.

"No! I can get it, Aunt Andy! It's not that heavy, promise! Besides, I've grown since you last saw me!" Mark said as he all but dragged her bag alongside.

"Uh…well…if you insist." Andy said unsurely, "Thanks, Marky." She said as she ruffled his hair. Mark groaned but followed as his father beckoned him and his aunt inside.

* * *

Andy plopped down onto the couch, exhausted from playing with her young niece. She chuckled lightly as she leaned back and closed her eyes. She heard her older brother laugh behind her.

"I told you that they could be a handful." Andy laughed, shaking her head.

"No, they're alright. I just can't believe how much they've grown." Cathy was no longer the little baby she had been in Andy's mind, and Mark had grown substantially. He had even gotten to be around her height. Her brother laughed again.

"It's just good that you could make it back home for the holidays."

"Thanks, Simon." It was true, Andy thought. She had been away for quite some time. Andy never really had many opportunities to visit while she was away in college - money had been too tight. Being states apart didn't help either. Andy had received a great scholarship opportunity at Northeastern University in Boston, not leaving her much time to get back to her native west Pennsylvania. However, her older brother Simon had offered to pay for the trip back home, and she had been staying with him and his family in Burgess.

"How long has it been?" her brother popped his head back around the short wall that separated the living room and the dining room. Andy snorted,

"Almost two and a half years." Simon gave a low and sarcastic whistle,

"Much longer, and no one would recognize you." Andy rolled her eyes before lifting herself up off the couch. "Also, Marie says the food is ready." At this, her niece and nephew practically tripped over themselves to be the first ones in line for food. Andy stayed behind, stooping to pick up the toys that were left strewn across the floor. From her spot in the living room, she could see her brother lift and twirl his daughter Catherine around in a quick circle. Andy slowly stood and walked into the kitchen, taking in the family atmosphere. She had sorely missed being with them. Her brother Simon was ten years older than she, but Lord knew he didn't act like it. Simon, in Andy's opinion, never really grew out of his adolescence. And he was a terribly big softie, especially around his children. You wouldn't have guessed by looking at him, though. Simon was built like a brick house; he easily topped 6'1", with bulk and muscle to match. He kept his head shaved and had dull blue eyes, eyes which her sister-in-law, Marie, said she fell for instantly. As she put it, 'He may be big and mean looking, but he was all fluff and pudding on the inside'. Andy smirked as her brother tried to convince his son, Mark, to sit long enough to eat his food. It wasn't until Marie stepped in that the twelve-year-old listened.

Andy considered her sister-in-law for a moment. The woman had been a few years older than her brother, but she could be just as young at heart as he was. Marie was a lieutenant colonel in the air force, and had the presence of authority to go with it. Marie was a petite woman with long, sleek, black hair and a beautiful and rich dark olive complexion - a trait she passed down to her children. Although she looked small and demure, Andy had seen firsthand how strong Marie could be. Marie had invited Andy to her local gym to try and teach her some basic self-defense, saying that she'd need it being alone in the big city. Andy had failed miserably, but she got to watch Marie spar off against a rather large man that scoffed at her supposed ability to fight. Although Marie tried to talk the man down at first, she had been eventually goaded onto the mat, the man using some choice harsh - and racist - words. Andy had to admit, the man was built like a tank and looked formidable. But Marie just laughed it off, and Andy later found out why. Marie may have been small, but she moved with lightning speed. The man was on the mat in the blink of an eye. Marie later revealed that she may have had the pleasure of learning some moves from an Israeli forces officer, and had been taking martial arts classes since she was a child. From that day on, Andy both respected and slightly feared Marie.

Andy took her spot at the small, wooden table across from Mark. Both he and Catherine looked like their mother, olive complexion with silky black hair. Their eyes, however, were a dull blue like their father's. Where Catherine was petite, although still at the ripe old age of seven, Mark had been tall and slender at twelve, surpassing the height of his peers.

"Aunt Andy! Do you want to go and play outside after dinner?" Mark all but shouted across the table. Andy sent Marie a glance before shaking her head,

"Sorry, bud. It's awfully late and it's getting dark." she saw a dejected look creep onto his face, she hated to see the kid look so down and couldn't stop herself. "But how about we go tomorrow? I'm sure the snow will still be around then."

"Aw, really? Great! Then you'll get to meet all of my friends!" The young boy was practically vibrating in his seat.

"What do you think, Cathy? Want to go sledding tomorrow?" Marie asked her daughter, who had been distracted with a small drawing she was coloring in.

"Yeah!" Cathy's head shot up, a huge grin plastered across her small face.

"Aww, no!" Mark complained, "Why do we have to take Cathy? She's too young!" Marie shot Mark a piercing look,

"You are going to take Cathy with you, not buts." she cut him off before he could reply, "Do you understand?" Mark looked down at his plate with a scowl on his face,

"Yes, mom."

"Good. Now eat your dinner," she said before turning to Andy with a smile. "How has school been going?"

"It's been good; clinicals have been killer." Andy said after hastily gulping down the bite she had in her mouth. Andy was about three and a half years into her bachelor's in nursing degree. "If I'm being honest, I was really feeling run down before now, but this trip has really been a pick-me-up. It's good to be with family again." Simon smiled before nudging her with his elbow.

"It's good to have you back, Andy." At that moment, Andy let out a very large yawn, barely meeting it with the back of her hand in time.

"You must be exhausted," Marie pointed at her with her fork. Andy nodded sheepishly.

"It has been a long day." Andy had driven a little over nine hours that day, only to play with her niece until dinner. Marie laughed,

"Go on up to your room. Get some sleep." The motherly tone was evident in how she was speaking now. Just has her children started to voice their disappointment, Andy spoke up.

"Yeah, I think I might. Besides, guys, I'm going to be here for a week. We have all of that time to play." She stood and took her plate to the sink, making sure to ruffle Mark's hair on the way. After bidding them all goodnight, Andy slowly climbed the stairs, turning right on the landing before arriving at the guest room.

As Andy walked into the room, she felt around the wall for the light switch. As she flipped the lights on, she took in the surroundings of the rather spacious guest room. Much like the rest of the larger home, the floors were a dark hardwood. The walls in this room were a calming medium shade of blue. The room hadn't been very furnished; it had a queen-sized bed pushed up against the right wall and a small nightstand with a lamp next to it. On the opposite wall stood a floor length mirror next to a dresser that had a few family photos and trinkets set on top of it. Marie had apologized when she first showed Andy the room for the dust that had accumulated, it wasn't often they had guests. Andy told her she didn't mind, that the large room was more than enough.

Burgess had been a college town, and drew in a fair amount of money with the university on the hill. Like the rest of this part of town, the home was old and large, with four bedrooms. With Marie's income from the military and Simon's job as engineer, they were able to live comfortably. They had offered for Andy to live with them and attend Burgess University while she pursued her nursing degree, but she had declined. With the amazing scholarship to Northeastern and the promise of independence, she was quick to say goodbye to Burgess. Andy chuckled ruefully to herself as she slumped down onto the bed - independence. It, and adulthood, we're both overrated. It meant responsibilities and deadlines. It meant being alone and away from her family for too long. She sighed - no, adulthood was definitely overrated. That night, it had taken Andy a long time to try and sleep. Worries about end of semester tests and school in general plagued her as she tossed and turned from one side to another, never quite making it into dream land.

As Andy slowly drifted off to sleep, not bothering to change out of her clothes, she was jolted awake by a scraping sound at the window. Getting up, she made her way to a large french window on the far side of the room. The curtains were already pulled back and tucked to the side, so she was able to see the backyard and the large scraping branch clearly in the moonlight.

"God damn tree," Andy grumbled to herself before practically stomping back towards the bed. She slid off her sweatshirt before grabbing her bag to dig around for her nightclothes. As she pulled out her tank top and shorts pajamas, she chanced a glance back at the window. The backyard didn't have any neighbors in direct sight of her room, and no peeping tom hidden in the tree. Better safe than sorry, she turned away from the large window and proceeded to change. Now out of her old clothes, she began digging in her bag once more.

"Where are you, you little…I know I packed you - aha!" Andy triumphantly pulled out a small circular nightlight. Plugging it into the outlet near the nightstand, she went to turn off the main light. As soon as the room grew dark, she all but ran for the bed and dived in. Safely under the protection of the comforter, Andy nuzzled down into the blankets, this time having no trouble falling asleep.

* * *

Morning seemed to come too quickly for Andy. It also didn't help that her brother sent Mark and Cathy to wake her up. In no time, the two kids were practically jumping on her to get her up.

"Oh, okay! Okay! I'll get up!" Andy groaned into her pillow as the two shouted in victory. Looking at her watch, Andy could see that it was just past seven. When did she go to bed? Maybe ten? How in the hell did she sleep so long?

"Come on! You said we could go play in the snow today! And everyone is already outside!" Mark begged as he raced over to the door and swung it open. Andy dropped her head into the pillow - she had almost forgot about that.

"Alright, let me eat breakfast and then I'll get dressed, okay?" She said as she sat up and stretched. Cathy had stayed on the bed with Andy, having attached herself to Andy in a hug.

"Yeah! I'm gonna go let my friends know you're going to be with us today! Come on, Cathy! Let's go!" Mark motioned for Cathy to join him, but Cathy stayed rooted.

"I want to stay with Aunt Andy." Andy mentally groaned. It's not like she didn't love her niece and nephew, she did! Loads, in fact! But children weren't exactly her forte, and it was way too early.

"Go on, Cathy. I'll be right down, I promise." Andy tried to give her most reassuring smile. Thankfully, Cathy bought it and nodded before sliding off the bed to join her older brother. As they left, Andy watched the empty door for a second. She heard the distant sounds of the two children clamoring down the stairs and out the door where she could hear them shouting to their friends. Andy groaned once more before dangling her legs off the side of the bed and sliding off lazily. Rifling through her bag, she grabbed a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and her hoodie before heading to the bathroom to start the day.

Breakfast sped past her and before she knew it, Andy was tugging on her winter boots and gloves.

"Man, I'm so excited!" Mark began, "My friends are so ready to meet you! Today's gonna be the best!"

"Can we go sledding first?" Cathy asked as Andy turned to help her with her hat.

"Well, we'll just have to see! Let's go to the park first and _then_ we could head to the hill. How does that sound?" Cathy thought it over for a moment before agreeing.

"Everyone all set?" Andy asked, giving the two a once over before they walked out the door. Both kids practically ran over each other to get outside, leaving Andy in their dust.

"Hey, Andy?" A voice called from the living room.

"Yeah, Marie?" Andy poked her head around the hallway wall.

"I'm about to go grocery shopping. Would you mind watching the kids for a while?" Andy waved it off,

"Of course! It's no problem." Marie gathered up her keys before joining Andy at the door.

"Thanks, you're being a huge help. Just remember that the spare key is in the flower pot out back."

"It's really no big deal. Just drive safe, the roads look covered in ice." With that and a short goodbye, both women parted ways with Andy jogging to try and catch up to her niece and nephew.

* * *

Mark and Cathy had been heading to the local small park near the center of the neighborhood. When Andy had driven by yesterday, the place had been packed with a huge gaggle of children. Today seemed to be no exception. As Andy finally reached the two, a small group of fourteen or fifteen children met them near the entrance of the park.

"Mark! Hey!" A smaller boy with brown hair ran up and to the three of them and waved, "We're just about to start an epic snowball fight! We've already built forts – we were just waiting for you guys."

"Awesome! Have you picked teams?" The other boy shook his head, "Well, my aunt says she wants to play with us today, if that's okay." Mark explained before jabbing his thumb in Andy's direction.

"Yeah! That's no problem! That would make it even for girls versus boys!" A tall and thin girl with a red knit cap in the back said suddenly, motioning the others girls to follow her and formed a small team behind Andy.

"Oh, uh, are you guys sure? I mean, I am bigger than you." Andy pointed out, only to be met with laughs from the boys.

"That doesn't matter!" A boy with dark skin said with a laugh before nudging his twin brother,

"Yeah, we've got Jack! There's no _way_ you could beat him!" The twin said. Andy raised an eyebrow before darting her eyes to see anyone so formidable among the children. She didn't see anyone over the age of thirteen. Tops. She gave a snort before rubbing her hands together.

"Okay, boys. _Your_ funeral." She turned to her group of soldiers, "Alright ladies! Show me where our great fort is, and we shall slaughter the competition!" With a cheer, the group of girls marched over to the right side of the open field where a crude wall of snow was put up. As the group gathered round, Andy gave them all a mischievous look.

"Ladies! My name is Andy, and today we take victory for the girls!" She began her pep talk and crouched to be at eye level with the girls who were stooped behind the wall. The small group of girls laughed and cheered. "And I have a plan."

Both team captains were to meet and shake hands in the middle of the field before the start of war. The boys' team sent out the brown haired kid, who the girls had informed her was named Jamie, while the girls had voted Andy as team leader. As the two crunched through the heavily trodden snow to meet each other, Andy couldn't wonder where their major weapon was, this kid named Jack. The girls had giggled and played it off when she asked who it was. And not only that, they admitted that they didn't stand a chance against him! What absolutely shitty team morale! Even Cathy agreed. Andy came to a stop in front of Jamie, her hand stretched out. He quickly shook it and said with a smirk,

"You're going down. Jack said there's no way you can win." Whoa. What? Two could play at that game. Andy put on a smirk of her own before adding,

"I'd like to see him try and stop us." With that, she turned heel and marched back to ranks before meeting up with her team to go over the plan again. She motioned the tall girl, Pippa, to stand next to her. The rest of the girls formed a semicircle around the two.

"Alright, everyone knows the plan?" It had been predetermined that the game was going to be like dodge ball - once hit with an enemy snowball, you were a casualty of war and had to lay down where you were. "Try your hardest to make it to their fort, take out their leader. And if you can," Andy paused and smirked, "and I _know_ you can, try to take out this Jack kid." Andy waited for questions, and one of the larger girls coughed quietly and raised her hand. Cupcake, she thought her name was.

"Do you really think we can win, against them? Against Jack?" Andy smiled at her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Of course I do. And you just need to believe you can, too. There is nothing stopping us from winning." Andy turned to the rest of her ragtag team, "Are you guys ready?!" They yelled and cheered in response. Andy smirked and turned to look across the field, seeing the small group of boys readying their ammo. "To your positions!" Andy shouted and dived behind the fort wall. As she looked around, the girls all nodded and grabbed the pre-made handfuls of snow. "Attack!"

It was safe to say that the girls totally had the determination and balls to win the game. So far, they were doing well; all of the girls were sticking to the plan perfectly. Andy looked for her opening in the constantly moving battlefield. She would be the distraction for her team, while three of her girls were to be the main infiltration team. Andy was bigger and noticeable, but was able to dodge the snowballs the younger boys were throwing. She had yet to see this wonder-kid, Jack. Andy quickly ran out from behind the wall, grabbing snowballs off the ground - who made all this extra ammo? She thought briefly before sending a snowball into one of the twin's back.

"No! Caleb!" Andy heard Jamie shout from behind the lines, Andy laughed before swearing and dodging a snowball, sliding behind one of a few hiding walls set up in the middle of the battlefield. She glanced back at Pippa, Cathy, Cupcake and a smaller girl named Rebecca. Cupcake, Cathy and Rebecca, much like Andy, were to be decoys. Pippa had apparently been a great runner, and was meant to be the infiltrator. Andy gave a curt nod before watching the four girls take off as stealthily as they could. Rather quickly, Cathy had been picked off. Andy grimaced as Cathy lay down dejectedly. Chancing a glance over the wall she was hiding behind, Andy could see a young boy, Monty, trying to sneak up on her position. Andy quickly hurled a snowball before ducking back down. She heard the boy whine before lying down.

She looked at the snowy battlefield from her position. The boys' team had four of their seven down. The girls were two up, and children were lying on the ground, laughing at the others or making snow angels. Now was the time, while the girls were trying to sneak, to pop up and cause a major distraction. Grabbing an arm full of snowballs, Andy popped up from behind her wall and began rushing the enemy fort with a battle cry. Trying her best to dodge the incoming fire, she managed to take out another boy before taking a snowball to the chest. A pained looked crossed her face before she let out a dramatic gurgling and painful noise.

"Carry on without me, ladies!" Looking around as she laid down, not five feet from the enemy fort, she tried to spot who pegged her. But when she looked in the direction of the snowball, she didn't see anyone. Andy sighed and looked up into the sky, blinking before realizing that it began to softly snow. She smiled and rolled over to watch what was soon to be the end of the battle. Cupcake aimed high before yelling that she got Jack. Andy glanced around for the fallen boy, but she must have missed him. Not a second later, Cupcake took a snowball to her side, and she practically growled before lying down next to Andy.

"You fought the good fight, soldier," Andy said as she put her hand on Cupcake's arm, "Now it's time to rest. And good job getting Jack. I knew you could do it." Cupcake giggled and rolled onto her stomach to watch the war unfold, making sure to give Andy a fist bump. Rebecca and Pippa had managed very well, and had taken out another boy. Quickly it was two to one, and Rebecca pegged Jamie as Pippa barely missed him. With a squeal from the girls and dejected moans from the boys, Rebecca, Pippa and the remaining girls began cheering and jumping around. The fallen combatants all stood and pushed themselves off the ground before joining their teams in the lightly falling snow. Andy and Cupcake ran to the rest of their compatriots and celebrated.

"Great jobs, guys! I knew you could do it!" Andy gave her group of girls high fives.

"Did you see that amazing shot? Cupcake, you're awesome!" Pippa jumped while she pumped her fist in the air. Andy laughed as Cupcake blushed, and turned to look as the boys walked over to them.

"Good game, gentlemen. Well played." Andy said as she went to shake Jamie's hand again. Despite defeat, the other team had smiles all around.

"That was awesome! Jack says he didn't expect you to put up such a good fight!" Jamie shouted, turning to look behind him. Andy glanced in the direction he was looking in,

"Yeah, well, I'd like to meet this kid." Andy laughed. "You guys did well."

"Oh, Jack's right there." Mark said as he walked up to his aunt and pointed behind his group. Andy looked up but saw no one. But she noticed that a few of the children were talking to a specific empty spot. And they seemed to be holding a group conversation. Jack must have been an imaginary friend that the group integrated into their play. They even laughed as a group, seemingly at an unknown source. That had been unnerving. "You can't see him, can you." Mark stated as he dragged Andy to the group. Andy looked down at her nephew before shaking her head slightly. Most of the children were looking towards her now, while some broke off from the group to go to calling parents.

"Sorry, Ace. Afraid I can't." Mark looked disappointed before he looked to the empty spot. He looked focused, like he was listening to someone talking.

"Jack says that that's okay, adults can't see him-" Mark stopped talking to watch the spot again, "But he says that he wouldn't have been hit if you hadn't been so distracting after he hit you with that snowball." Andy's eyebrows shot up before she barked out a laugh.

"Please, our plan was flawless."

"Jack says you caught him off guard." Jamie spoke up, as Andy shivered at a sudden chill. The children all shifted their focus to a new spot. Andy had to admit, _that_ was creepy as hell.

"Yes, well, tell your friend I'll be here all week if he wants a rematch." Mark laughed,

"He asks if that was a promise. He says he could kick your butt any day of the week." Andy shot a glance to Mark as the other kids all laughed in unison at the imaginary friend's joke. Another chill ran down her back, and she swore she could hear a faint laugh near her ear. Andy's head darted in the direction of the laugh before brushing it off as imagination and checked her watch, they had been out for much longer than she realized. Her fingers and toes no longer had feeling, but it didn't surprise her. She only came out in a sweatshirt and jeans.

"Yeah, it's a promise." She laughed, "But we should be getting back, guys. I can't feel my fingers anymore." Many voices of opposition rose, but Andy held her hand up. "Look, we can play again later, but your mom would kill me if you guys were out too long." As if on cue, many more parents began calling for their children to come in for lunch. "Like I said, we'll come out later." She grabbed Cathy's hand before waving to the group. "Bye guys, it was good meeting you!" The small group of children laughed and waved as they walked away.

* * *

On the way home, Mark and Cathy both recounted their versions of the snowball war. Andy laughed at their accounts, both differing greatly and growing in grandeur by the second. The history of the Great Snowball War had been ever changing. As they rounded the corner that lead to her brother's house, Andy was became lost in her musings about their imaginary friend Jack. They had been introduced to him through Jamie and his small group of friends. Not that Andy minded, she was sure she had imaginary friends growing up. She shrugged it off, before heading up the driveway. She sent Mark to grab the spare key and waited until he came running back.

"Hey, Aunt Andy? Can we have hot chocolate - oh! Hey Jack!" Andy whipped around from door to see Cathy and Mark both greet an empty spot. Andy smirked as they chatted to the air while she pushed open the door. "Jack says that Jamie and his friends can't come out later." Mark frowned and Cathy audibly sighed.

"That's okay, we can always play tomorrow." Andy said before motioning inside.

"Come on, let's go get that hot chocolate. Does Jack want some?" Mark perked up and looked to his friend.

"Jack says he'll come in for a little bit, but he's got to go make more snow soon." Andy opened her mouth before shutting it quickly – just let it go for now, she told herself. She held the door open as the kids ran inside. Before shutting the door, she turned to Cathy as the little girl took off her boots.

"Has Jack walked inside yet?" Cathy nodded and pointed into the living room.

"He's already sitting on the couch." Andy chuckled,

"What, he's not going to take off his shoes?" Cathy gave her aunt a confused look.

"Jack doesn't wear shoes." Andy raised an eyebrow before taking off her shoes and gloves.

"Doesn't his feet get cold in the snow?" Mark took off for the living room while laughing, but no one answered her. She sighed as Cathy also took off for the living room. Andy went straight to the kitchen before calling out to the children, "Hey, guys! Pick out a movie to watch? Something suitable for Cathy, Mark." She said as she sent a pointed look to Mark.

"No problem! Jack says he likes his hot chocolate with milk and not water." Mark shouted as he searched through the collection of movies. Andy snorted,

"What does he think we are, heathens?" She heard the same unfamiliar and faint laugh from earlier. She poked her head out from behind the kitchen wall to see if anyone new was in the room before raising an eyebrow and going back to grab the now warm milk from the microwave. She quickly poured out portions into three cups and took it out to the kids and asked where Jack was sitting before placing the cup in front of the spot. She sat in front of Cathy on the floor as the movie started up, one of the old stop motion Christmas movies. Mark had always loved them.

"She can't drink milk." Cathy said suddenly, before giggling.

"What Cathy?" Andy asked, turning to look at the little girl.

"Oh, Jack asked why you weren't drinking hot chocolate too. He says it's not really living without it." Andy turned back around and stood.

"It's not so bad," She laughed. "I'm going to go change out of my wet clothes." As she stood and walked past the end of the couch she felt another cold draft.

"Did one of you guys open a window?" Andy asked as she looked around the room at the windows. "Do you guys have a draft in here?" Mark shook his head.

"No, you just walked by Jack." The hairs on Andy's arms stood on end,

"Why-"

"He says before you ask, no he isn't a ghost." Mark said matter-of-factly. The rest of Andy's hair stood on end, goosebumps running up and down her arms.

"How do you know I was gonna-"

"He says he's heard it before. He's just cold because he brings winter and snow." Andy had a major case of the heebie-jeebies, and tried to laugh it off.

"Oh. 'Kay. I'm just gonna go upstairs now." With that she turned on her heel and retreated upstairs.

Andy quickly walked into her room and rummaged around her bag for a pair of yoga pants and a loose school shirt. Tilting her head to listen to the sounds downstairs, she could hear the kids talking and the movie playing. Walking towards the nightstand and the adjoining bathroom, she began to strip off her damp clothes and replacing them with dry, warm ones. Going into the bathroom, she searched for her hair tie and turned to go back downstairs. Trotting down the steps, she could see Cathy already napping on the edge of the couch. Mark groaned at something and shoved the air to his left - Jack she assumed.

"How old are you, aunt Andy?" Mark asked suddenly. Andy figured she might as well roll with all the questions and assume it was 'Jack' asking.

"Twenty, twenty-one in a few days." She said as she plopped herself onto the floor. She pulled up her shoulder length hair into a loose and sloppy bun.

"Jack says happy early birthday."

"Thanks, Jack. You going to come to the party Friday?" Andy talked to the empty space.

"He asks what time it will be at." Andy smirked,

"Well, I think the cake and ice cream is going to be around six?" Mark grinned,

"Yeah! Jack says he'll try and be here! It's gonna be so much fun, Jack! Mom said we get to do a piñata!" Mark then inhaled loudly and covered his mouth as Andy quickly looked at him and smirked.

"A piñata, hm?"

"Don't tell mom I told you! It was supposed to be a surprise!" Andy laughed and lightly socked Mark's arm.

"It's no biggie, I'll make sure to act surprised." Mark sighed appreciatively.

"Thanks, aunt Andy. Jack says he can't wait either." Andy thought for a moment before asking,

"What do you mean that Jack needed to bring winter and make more snow?" Mark gave her a look before listening to his friend again,

"He says he was wondering when you were going to ask. He's Jack Frost, he makes winter." Andy's head snapped to the side.

"That's why he's cold, isn't it." Mark nodded. "Why does he say adults can't see him?" Mark got up to put his cup in the sink, apparently not needing to ask Jack.

"It's because you don't believe in him." Andy stood, grabbing Cathy's cup as well. She furrowed her eyebrows, and stood beside Mark as he put his cup in the dishwasher.

"What do you mean?"

"To see Jack, you have to believe he exists. It's the same for Santa and the Easter Bunny. They're invisible to adults because adults don't believe in them anymore." Andy looked a little gobsmacked, not bothering to close her mouth. What in the…that's the most depressing thing Mark had ever said to her before. "But Jack says it's okay, he's gotten used to it." Andy rinsed out the cup and put it in the dishwasher as well before heading back to the living room.

"That's kinda sad." Andy muttered, "I mean, not being seen by adults." Mark just shrugged and jumped on the couch, but not hard enough to wake Cathy.

"Jack doesn't think so. He says adults are boring. Being around kids is more fun." Andy smirked,

"I thought he had fun today, and _I'm_ an adult." Mark snorted, only waving her off. Andy got an idea. "Hey, wait here a second, I'll be right back." She quickly jogged up the stairs before turning to go into her room. Earlier that day, she had seen a box of color pencils and crayons in a drawer. Once she successfully retrieved them, she headed back downstairs and tossed the box at her nephew and headed to the printer to grab some paper. As she entered the living room, she pulled the coffee table closer to the couch and Mark.

"How about you draw a picture of Jack? It's not fair he knows what I look like and I haven't a clue what he looks like." Mark smiled and quickly got to work. As the movie played quietly in the background, Andy watched Mark with curiosity. Andy cocked an eyebrow,

"How old is Jack, Mark?" The picture showed him as tall and very thin. Granted, Mark was getting better with his art, but Jack looked older than twelve. Mark hummed,

"He says he's physically around eighteen or so, but he's really over three hundred years old." Andy's other eyebrow joined the first near her hairline. Without looking up, Mark added nonchalantly, "He says to stop making that face, you'll give yourself wrinkles." Andy's mouth hung open,

"Well, tell him to let me in on the secret to eternal youth. He's lookin' good for over three hundred." A small tinkle of laughter caught Andy's ear, but she wasn't sure if she had really heard it. She looked at the picture's progress, soon she saw him fill in a blue sweatshirt and brown…leggings? Trousers, maybe? His hair was silver, and he didn't wear shoes. As a finishing touch, Mark added what looked like a shepherd's crook. "Why does he have a staff?" Andy asked, taking the now finished picture into her hands.

"He says it helps him focus his powers."

"Over snow and ice…" Andy finished quietly, taking in the drawing. "He is not at all what I thought he'd look like." Mark shifted on the couch, glancing to his side.

"He wants to know what did you expect?" Andy chuckled before handing the picture back.

"I don't know, maybe like that old cartoon? Pointy ears and shoes with an adorable hat?" She swore she felt the temperature drop a little for a second.

"Uh, Jack says he hates that cartoon." Mark laughed at his friend. Andy laughed along with him, and stood to go move Cathy to a more comfortable place.

"Well, me thinks Jack needs to get over it - it's a cute movie." Mark laughed loudly and acted as if someone shoved him slightly.

"What?" He said to 'Jack', "She said it was cute!" Andy just shook her head and tried to scoop Cathy up in her arms.


	2. Time With Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A young woman returns home for the holidays and is introduced to her niece and nephew's imaginary friend. At first, it's a game, but could this 'Jack' be real? And when something goes terribly wrong, will she be able to turn to him for help?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As far as this chapter goes, it does have some minor things, but the bigger stuff is happening soon, and probably by the next chapter! So, I hope you enjoy it! – AmmyPie

Home for the Holidays – Chapter 2

* * *

Mark laughed loudly and acted as if someone shoved him slightly.

"What?" He said to 'Jack', "She said it was cute!" Andy just shook her head and tried to scoop Cathy up in her arms.

Andy carefully shifted Cathy in her arms before coming to the top of the stairs to put her in her bed. She hoped that Marie wouldn't mind that Cathy had an earlier bedtime. If she decided to get up later, Andy knew that Marie would make her be the one to stay up with Cathy until she finally passed out. Pulling the covers over the little girl, Andy looked out the bedroom's window. It was already dark and neither Marie nor Simon were home yet. Just as she pulled her cell phone out, it vibrated, indicating a message. It had been Simon letting Andy know that he was taking Marie out for dinner, a surprise date. He then apologized for forgetting to tell Andy about it. Also, Marie dropped off the groceries while they were still out, apparently. Andy sighed and quietly exited the room and closed the door.

"Hey, Mark? Your dad just texted me. He and your mom are going out for dinner." She called as she came to the bottom of the stairs. She could see that Mark was fighting off a yawn. Andy snickered, "A little tired are we?" Mark sent his aunt a glare. Andy rolled her eyes and leisurely walked to where she had been sitting on the floor only a few minutes before. With hands on her hips, she turned to the TV to see how far along into the movie they had gotten. The elf from the Rudolph movie, Hermey was his name, she thought, had just been introduced. She turned back around and looked at Mark, who had moved on to drawing other pictures. "So, what do you want for dinner? And am I going to have to make a serving for Jack?" Mark looked up and shrugged,

"I don't care what we have. Jack left while you were putting Cathy to bed. He said he was going to go see Jamie before he heads to Norway." Andy nodded slowly,

"Okay…well. How about soup?"

* * *

Marie and Simon ended up coming home a few hours later, not long after Mark had gone up to bed. Simon apologized again for the change of plan earlier that day, but Andy just waved him off and insisted that it wasn't a deal. As Marie went up to check on the children, Simon sat on the couch next to Andy, who had been reading ahead in her textbook. It had been a comfortable silence until Simon turned on the TV to switch channels to a crime show. Andy closed the thick book she had balanced on the arm of the couch. She had been trying to read for a while now but seemed to be on the same page, rereading the same paragraph, the same line over and over again. Absently chewing on her lip, she turned to her older brother.

"Did I have imaginary friends when I was younger?" She had been thinking about it since after dinner, but she couldn't pull any evidence of having one from her memories. Simon gave her an odd look and small laugh before pulling one of his legs up onto the couch with him. He seemed to think for a moment before cracking a bigger smile,

"Yeah, actually. I remember you only having one. I think he was supposed to be some giant rabbit." He laughed and Andy felt her cheeks get warm before shoving his arm lightly.

"Shut it, Simon." She laughed along with him.

"Why do you ask?"

"Oh, Mark has an imaginary friend that he seems to share with some other kids." Simon nodded knowingly,

"Jack, right? Kinda creepy, isn't it? Cathy is in on it too, apparently. Did he tell you what he looks like?" Andy nodded, "Marie keeps joking around that it might be a ghost or something." Simon shivered. Simon had always been a giant pansy about such things since he was a kid, after swearing he had seen the dark figure of a man with glowing orange eyes in his closet.

"Yeah, maybe you are haunted. It'd explain why all of the other kids can see him. Oh!" Andy flipped her book over and opened up the back cover, pulling out the drawing. "I asked Mark to draw him earlier." She handed the picture over to Simon, who looked over it and nodded.

"Yeah, that's what he described him like. You know," he started as he handed Andy the drawing back, motioning her to keep it when she gave him a questioning look, "It wasn't until Mark started hanging out with Pippa and her friends that he started talking about this Jack." He turned the volume down on the TV slightly, so he could speak a little more quietly. "I don't mind it, really. I just didn't think that Mark would have an imaginary friend at his age. When you started playing with your imaginary friend, you were maybe six. By ten you had forgotten all about it. So why is Mark-"

"I think it'll be alright." Andy held up her hand a little to stop his talking. These were all things she had thought of earlier. "I'm sure it's nothing. For all you know, they're just playing a big game together. Or maybe they're just doing it to freak their parents out, pretending to play with ghosts. Who knows." Andy laughed, swinging out her legs from under her, stretching lightly. She stood and picked up her textbook. "I think I might head to bed." She said while fighting off a yawn.

"Alright. Goodnight, Andy." Her brother sighed and called after her as she headed towards the stairs. "And thanks again!" Andy chuckled, not turning around.

"Goodnight, Simon."

* * *

Once in the spare room, Andy set the book on top of the dresser with a sigh and closed the bedroom door. Reading her textbooks always made her feel tired. Grabbing a night shirt and underwear, she walked into the bathroom, not bothering to close the door as she turned on the shower faucet and began to undress. As she stepped into the shower, she began to think about the conversation she had about Jack and imaginary friends in general. She had never met a kid prior to Mark that had an imaginary friend. She assumed the best course of action was to go along with it, to humor them until they grew out of the friend. She didn't see the harm in letting him keep it up, and why not let him keep believing? It was probably the best to not try and crush his dreams just yet. She grabbed her shampoo and began to lather up; when did she stop believing in stuff like that? She honestly wasn't sure she could pinpoint an age. Simon had said it was when she was around ten. And when did she have a giant rabbit as an imaginary friend? When Simon spoke of it, she had the briefest jog of her memory. Like a dream she had had years ago. She shook her head, it didn't matter.

Maybe Marie was right, maybe it was a ghost? She did hear something a few times when Mark was talking about Jack. Laughter, she thought. Like someone had laughed quietly in the next room. Despite the warm water, Andy shivered. No, she reasoned with herself. It couldn't be a ghost. It was probably just the movie in the background or something like that. She quickly turned off the water, grabbing the towel from the nearby hook. After drying off and changing into her night clothes, she grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste, thinking back to the snowball fight. She heard the laugh then too. It must have been one of the kids. But it had been so close to her... Spitting out the toothpaste into the sink, she quickly wiped her mouth before heading out of the bathroom and shutting off the light. As she began to fold her yoga pants, she paused and glanced at the open curtains. She had felt weirded out after all of the talk of invisible people and ghosts. She shook it off though and continued to get ready for bed, combing out her hair. There was no way someone could see into her room. No ghosts. But that didn't stop her from hurrying from the light switch to the bed.

* * *

The next morning, Andy had woken up to the sun shining through the open curtains. She grumbled and turned over, not yet willing to get up. What time was it anyway? She flung her hand out in the direction of the nightstand, blindly fumbling around trying to find her phone. Grabbing it, she looked at the lock screen. It had been almost 9 a.m., and she had three waiting text messages. She sighed, pulling her other hand out from the inviting warmth of the blanket. One was from her mother, asking how her vacation at her brother's was going. The other two were from one of her friends, Abbigale, who was wondering the same. She smiled to herself and sent brief texts back. Once she was done, she pulled her hands back into the warmth, intent on staying put for a few more minutes. As if on cue, Andy heard the pitter patter of small feet quickly approaching her door. Squeezing her eyes shut and groaning before the door opened, Andy sat up. Cathy rushed in, a smile on her face.

"Good morning, Cathy," Andy said with a yawn, smiling back at the little girl.

"Good morning! Mom wants me to let you know that if you don't get up, you're going to miss out on breakfast." Andy nodded, more to herself than to her niece.

"Alright. Can you tell her I'll be right down?"

"Yep! Mom made pancakes, so you'll have to hurry. Daddy ate a lot of pancakes already." With that Cathy turned to leave, Andy laughing. Well, she wasn't wrong. Simon could plow through plates of the stuff. Andy swung her legs over the side of the bed and sighed as she got up. She got up and changed, making sure to try and control her bangs before heading downstairs.

Glancing out of the window on the way to the kitchen, Andy could see that there was not a lot of snow left on the ground. It seemed like the forecast was holding up, there was supposed to be a "heat wave" (temperatures reaching a scorching 50 F) passing through the northeast for the next few days. Andy had been a little bummed about it, she had been hoping for a snowy white Christmas this year, unlike the last few years. As she grabbed two pancakes and thanked Marie, she could see the same feeling written all over Mark's face.

"Missing the snow?" Andy said and sat down next to him.

"Yeah, I was hoping Jack was going to make it snow more." Andy nodded. Right, Jack made this kind of weather. She sighed as her eye caught Marie watching her to see what she'd say.

"Well, why not talk to him the next time you see him? I'm sure he'll see what he can do." Marie seemed content with her answer. "And let him know I was hoping for a blanket of snow for Christmas too." She winked before she nudged Mark with her elbow and taking a bite of her pancakes. Mark rolled his eyes before getting up and taking his plate to the sink. Andy chuckled and quietly finished her food before going to stand next to the couch where Mark was sitting while Cathy had set up a small area for drawing and coloring. Seeing that there was not anything good playing on the TV, she walked back to the kitchen, where Marie was sipping her coffee.

"So, what's the plan for today?" Andy asked as she took a seat across from Marie. Marie shrugged, still holding the cup near with both hands.

"Simon has work until seven, but I'm not needed for a few more hours." She shot Andy a glance, "Are you sure you're alright with babysitting until Simon comes home? We can always call someone if you'd rather go see someone else while you're in town." Andy shook her head,

"It's really no problem at all, Marie. Besides, there's no one here in town I'm in a rush to visit with."

"Alright, as long as you're sure. Cathy has a birthday party sleepover to go to around one, but the girl's mom is going to pick her up early for you. She should be here soon." Marie said as she stood to get more coffee. "Do you want a cup?"

"Oh, I'll grab one in a second. I'm going to go upstairs and get some reading done for class. Let me know before you head out?" Marie laughed,

"How much reading do you have? It's a lot of work for winter break." Andy chuckled,

"I'm reading ahead before we start the next unit when I go back." She sighed, "The new semester hasn't even started yet, and I'm already behind." With that, she got up from her seat and grabbed a cup from the cupboard. Marie smiled before handing her the creamer,

"At least it'll be over soon?"

"I keep telling myself that." The younger girl smiled back, stirring her coffee before setting the spoon in the sink and heading towards the stairs. As she passed the couch, Andy noticed that Mark looked absolutely bored out of his mind. Looking between the stairs and Mark, Andy sighed and headed toward the couch. "Hey, Ace," she said, leaning on the back of the couch, "Wanna go for a walk?" Mark considered it for a moment,

"Yeah. Can we walk to the park?" Andy nodded before calling over her shoulder,

"Is that okay with you, Marie?" Marie was watching the two from the kitchen and nodded.

"I want to go on a walk with you guys!" Cathy perked up from her spot near the small table, discarding her colored pencils.

"Cathy, Camilla and her mother are going to be here soon. You can't leave. In fact, you need to start picking up your stuff. Do you have everything packed for tonight?" Marie got up and moved to the little girl. Cathy looked dejected but began to pick up her things.

"I have most of it in my backpack." The girl told her mother,

"Then go finish packing. I'll finish picking this up."

"Okay, mama." With that, Cathy turned to climb the stairs but made sure that it was a painfully slow process. Marie rolled her eyes and shot Andy a smile.

"Camilla's mom should be here before I leave. If not, I'll text you."

"Alrighty. We won't go far." Andy left to put her cup on the counter before joining Mark at the door to put on her coat and boots.

* * *

"Aunt Andy, didn't you tell mom that you had homework to do?" Mark asked as they walked down the driveway. Andy shrugged,

"It's not that big of a deal, I can get it done tonight." She paused, "Speaking of school, how has school been going for you?" She turned to the young boy, who groaned, causing her to laugh,

"I'm glad that we're on winter break." Was all that he said. Andy continued to laugh lightly,

"I understand what you mean." Mark smirked, but sighed as he lightly kicked some snowy sludge that was left on the sidewalk.

"I really had been hoping that Jack would make it snow more." Andy thought for a moment before she shrugged,

"He probably has to bring snow to everywhere else, right? Everyone has to get their fair share, I'm sure."

"Yeah, but I wish Jack could stay here more. He's the best at snowball fights, and he makes sledding so much better!" Andy laughed at her nephew's enthusiasm.

"How about you tell me more about Jack Frost?"

* * *

Mark had happily talked the entire way to the park. He had gone into great detail about Jack Frost and an 'epic' battle between good and evil, between the Guardians and the Boogeyman. He hadn't known him at the time, but his friend Jamie had helped the Guardians save not only Easter, but the children of the world from the Boogeyman's horrible plot to darken the world with fear. Andy had been enthralled by the tale, not that she'd admit it readily. Mark had transformed into a captivating storyteller since she had last seen him, weaving the tales of sword fights and magic like he had been doing so for years. He spoke animatedly, making wild hand gestures and acting out most of the battles. The Boogeyman, Pitch Black, had finally been vanquished by the Guardians with the help of Mark's group of friends. The Guardians, a group of children's story characters, charged with protecting the children of the world. Jack was a newer member of this group, joining the ranks of those like Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and the Sandman. Andy had to admit that it was a pretty good story, wondering if the group of friends had passed around the story and had built it together. It seemed like no time at all before the two had walked their way around the park and back to the house. Mark had been disappointed to see that Jack wasn't at the park, and agreed that he wanted to go home to warm up and get some hot chocolate.

As they walked up the driveway, they could see that Marie had already left for work. Andy made her way through the melting snow to the back of the house, where a small pot concealed the spare key. Mark followed her before running past her to the back door. Andy laughed and taunted,

"Excited for that hot chocolate?" Mark looked back and gave her a half-baked scowl before Andy handed him the key. As soon as they were inside, they both quickly discarded their wet boots. As Andy shrugged off her coat, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. It was Marie, letting her know that she would be working until about eight that night. Andy leaned against the counter and quickly typed back a reply before heading to the fridge and cupboard for hot chocolate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it guys! If there is anything that you see as a mistake in here, let me know and I'll be sure to fix it! Thanks again!


	3. Fun On The Ice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A young woman returns home for the holidays and is introduced to her niece and nephew's imaginary friend. At first, it's a game, but could this 'Jack' be real? And when something goes terribly wrong, will she be able to turn to him for help?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is going to have some Jack perspective, so there is always that to look forward to!
> 
> I will be upping the rating coming up soon for language and eventual violence and adult themes. Just a heads up.
> 
> Let me know what you guys think! - AmmyPie

Home for the Holidays – Chapter 3

* * *

As they sat down with hot chocolate and coffee in hand, Mark decided that they were going to watch the new superhero movie that his mom had picked up recently. Half way through, Andy brought out an old beat up board game box. As soon as Mark saw it he almost jumped out of his seat to help her set it up.

"We haven't played Sorry! in so long!" Mark said as he placed his pieces in his home base. Andy smiled and placed her pieces down, watching the twelve-year old's excitement over an old game they used to play when he was younger. They hadn't been playing the game for more than five minutes before Mark's head shot up towards the back door. His face split into a huge grin before he raced to the door. Andy watched him go, a questioning look on her face. However, she heard him shout 'Jack' before slamming the door open. Andy hid her disappointment. She was having fun with Mark and she didn't want to have to try and pretend to include his imaginary friend. A rush of cold air and Mark closed the door, talking animatedly to the space in front of him. He then quickly pulled his friend over to where he had been sitting previously.

"Aunt Andy, Jack's here!" he said excitedly, and Andy smiled.

"So I heard," Andy glanced at the board for a moment. "Is Jack going to want to play?" Mark was silent for a moment before he shook his head,

"No, he says he's just going to watch this round." Andy nodded more to herself before drawing a card and following the instructions. She motioned for Mark to go next, who then proceeded to make a huge show for his friend. A few more rounds were played through, and Andy noticed Mark acting oddly. He seemed to be watching the game board intently. Almost like he was listening to his friend during his turns, nodding slightly every so often. It dawned on Andy exactly what he thought he was doing.

"Hey! Are you trying to cheat?" She asked with a playful glare. Mark's head jerked from side to side, but his guilty look betrayed him. Andy faked a huff and crossed her arms while turning her head away. "Betrayed by my favorite nephew, I see how it is." She peeked at Mark for a moment, and saw him smiling as he chuckled quietly.

"Jack said we were taking too long. He's getting bored."

"Well, if I do recall, he said he wasn't going to play this round." Andy said as she got up off of the floor and stretched out her legs. She picked up her coffee mug and held her hand out for Mark's hot chocolate mug. He gave it to her and turned in his spot on the couch to watch her go to the sink and rinse them out before putting them in the dishwasher.

"He said he didn't think we would be so boring." Andy rolled her eyes as she turned to face her nephew.

"And what does he think would be fun, huh?" Mark stayed silent for a moment, watching the ground.

"Yeah! Skating sounds like so much fun! Can we go, Aunt Andy? Jack says he knows a great place to go ice skating at!" When Mark looked to his aunt, he was surprised to see that she was actually already excited about the prospect of going ice skating.

"I haven't been able to go ice skating in _years_." Andy said as she dried her hands off. "Where did Jack have in mind?"

* * *

Mark had told her about the old pond that had been used by locals for skating, and Andy knew it well. She and Simon would go there often as children. After grabbing his pair of skates, and giving Andy a pair of his mom's skates, the two put on their coats and started the trek to the pond. On the way there, Mark began to talk about the pond, about some of the things he was most excited to try.

"And Jack says there are cool places to go sledding there, and that the ice skating is pretty great! Do you know where we're going, Aunt Andy?" He looked at her expectantly. Andy nodded,

"It's been a long time since I've been there, though." She said, slightly out of breath from climbing the uphill path in the woods.

"Well, when we get to the part of the path that splits into three, we need to take the one on the right," Mark said as they reached the top of the hill. From this spot, they could easily see the upcoming split in the path. Andy was glad that Mark knew the way, or at least wasn't lost yet. Like she had said, she hadn't been to the pond since she was very young. Mark continued to chat about the pond and about his friends, but Andy became lost in her own thoughts for a moment.

She knew exactly which pond Mark had meant, and she remembered being completely scared of it as a child. It hadn't always been that way – in fact she had loads of great memories at the water spot. The pond had a sort of sordid past; town legend said that the town's founder had a young boy that had drowned there when the area was first settled. However, locals continued to use the watering hole, regardless of what urban legend said. She, too, used the pond. During the summer she would go swimming there and during the winter she would skate. Simon had always been the one that would take her, and for the most part, he was the only one with her. Yet there was one day that she remembered fairly clearly. It had been about twelve years back, during the summer before her ninth birthday. The pond, which wasn't a regulated area, didn't have many people there that day. A young family had been playing in the shallow area of the water. The pond had a pretty substantial drop off about ten to fifteen feet in, depending on where you were. It was no small drop either, the shallows were four feet at their deepest, but the drop went down at least another twelve. It had been a hot, even for Pennsylvania, despite being later in the afternoon and Simon had brought two of his friends with him that day. Andy had never been the strongest swimmer so she had always stuck to the shallows, but her brother and his friends were swimming in the deeper parts of the pond. The water of the pond was murky, and Andy could still remember the feeling of the shallow water lilies brushing her legs as she waded deeper in. Smaller fish would hide in those lilies, and she took a moment to watch as they swam close to the surface but always just out of reach of the young girl. She could hear her brother and his friends yelling and splashing in the deeper end, each trying to see how far they could swim on a single breath or who could dive deeper. Andy had no fear of going out towards the drop off, but she had always been careful about getting too close. She and her brother were well aware of where the drop off was; they had been there plenty of times and had the lines of the ledge almost memorized. As she walked towards the edge she could feel the pond floor becoming more and more blanketed with vegetation. Shouting had caught her attention, and she looked up to see her brother's friends calling to her. Come into the deep end, they told her. She refused and continued to wade around by herself. She preferred it when it was just her and her brother. She ignored them, perfectly content to imagine that she was a mermaid that made friends with the fish as she swam slowly through the shallows. Andy could still hear the boys mocking her in the deep, but she focused on the story she was playing through in her head. She was a mermaid girl with a beautiful orange fin that would go on adventures with her best fish friends to solve the riddle of the king's missing scepter – suddenly she felt arms grab around her waist and hoist her into the air. She yelped in surprise, struggling against the strength of her brother's friend, Roger.

"It's not fun in the shallows," he said with laughter in his voice, Andy could remember his words clearly. In the deep end, she could see her brother laughing but slowly swimming towards them, telling Roger to put her down. It wasn't funny. Roger rolled his eyes and laughed as he came to the edge of the ledge. The journey there had taken only a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity to young Andy. She resisted, kicked and screamed, begging him to put her down. Looking back, she couldn't make out what he was saying to her brother, but Simon's other friend had joined in on the game. The other boy stood on the ledge as well and quickly grabbed her feet. In one quick motion Andy felt herself being flung into the air. She didn't weigh much as an eight-year-old, and the older teenage boys were able to toss her far with relative ease.

Andy remembered colliding with the water, back first. The warm, murky water filled her nose and mouth as she scrunched her eyes closed and tried to frantically swim up to the surface. She felt her hand breach the water and a surge of hope fill her as she kicked her feet to get a breath of air. Legs flailing, she was able to sputter up the water she swallowed and gulp one breath in before she sank back under the water. Her legs had begun to feel heavy and she found it harder to keep kicking them. Her fingertips could no longer reach the surface and she instinctively gasped in fear, water filling her mouth and lungs. In her panic, Andy opened her eyes to see the sun's rays barely filtering through the top of the water. Her lungs burned from lack of oxygen and pond water, and she felt much too tired to continue trying to reach the surface. As if against her will, her arms and legs slowed, her thoughts becoming fuzzy. Looking back up to the surface, she could barely see a dark shadow crossing over her. Eyes closing, she felt someone grasp her arm and drag her through the water. It was at this point that Andy's memory stopped. From what she could gather from the stories of her brother and his friends, the young mother that had been playing with her family in the shallows had been a nurse as well as one hell of a swimmer. What felt like an eternity to Andy must have been only moments, as the woman sprang into action to save her. The woman's husband called 911 while she gave Andy CPR. The woman and her family had just happened to be there, they were vacationers from a far off state, just visiting family. According to Andy's parents the family had made a last minute decision to go to the local pond they had been told about after some plans with family had fallen through. It was because of her heroine that Andy had decided to pursue a career in the medical field. She felt a need to pay back the universe for saving her, for putting that woman in her path. Looking back, Andy thought of the story of the boy who drowned and how close she came to the same fate. She never went swimming in that pond again, and she had spent years trying to convince herself to go skating on it.

Andy was brought back to the present, Mark had been lightly slapping her on the arm to get her attention. She looked over to him, the vivid memory no longer clouding her vision,

"Oh, I'm sorry Mark. I just spaced out a little." She said as she ruffled his hair and sighed. "What's up?" Mark scowled and fixed his hair.

"We're here…" he pointed to the pond's clearing. "You okay, Aunt Andy?" he gave her an incredulous look. Andy tried to laugh it off and shrugged,

"I'm fine, Ace. Just got lost in my thoughts. You know, I used to come here all the time to skate." There had been far more snow around the pond then there had been around the house. On the way to the pond, Andy had noticed that the temperature had seemed to drop a bit, and a light snow started falling. However, if Andy was being honest, she'd say that it seemed like the day's heat hadn't touched this place. They walked to the bank of the pond and sat down, Andy handing him the skates she had been holding onto as she glanced around the ice, looking for signs that it was unsafe.

"Are you any good?" Mark laced up his skates and stood up, waiting for his aunt to do the same.

"Eh, I can get around." Andy smiled and stood as well but had kept her boots on. "Hey, the day has been pretty warm, I'm not sure that skating is the best idea." she noted that there were still marks on the ice from where others had been skating, and could see the hole near the bank where someone had tested the thickness of the ice.

"Jack says that he made sure the pond would have thick ice so we could go." Mark said as he went to get onto the ice. Andy stopped him immediately with a hand on his arm.

"No matter what Jack says, let me go on and test to make sure it's safe." Mark looked to his left, Andy assumed it was Jack, before he answered her with a huff and crossed arms,

"Fine, but only because Jack wants you to make sure. But he says it's safe. I don't know why you can't just trust him on it." Andy rolled her eyes and went to go inspect the hole in the ice before she stepped foot onto the pond. Grabbing a long stick that she found near a tree, she placed it into the hole to gauge how deep the ice went. To her surprise, the ice went down a good six inches, safe for someone to skate on. Looking out at the ice itself, she noticed that it was blue, another good indication, and free from cracks. Given how warm the day had been, she was amazed that the ice was in such good shape. From behind her, she heard Mark call out,

"Can we go out now?"

"Not yet," Andy called over her shoulder in a sing-song voice. She took the stick and made her way over to the edge of the pond that Mark was near. "It looks like it might be okay," she said, "But I still want to go out there and check real quick." With that she turned and put a tentative boot onto the ice. When it held her weight, she took the stick and began testing the ice as she slid along. She had gotten a good thirteen feet out onto the ice and looked back at Mark, who was busy talking to his friend. She shook her head while she slowly and methodically made her way back towards shore.

"Hey, I think it looks good. I'd still be careful though, with all this warm weather today." When Mark didn't answer her right away, she looked up to see that he was still focusing on talking with his friend. "Mark!" Andy shouted as she came closer to the shore. Mark looked over at her quickly, turning as he did so. "I said I think it's good, but be careful!" Mark sent a grin over to his friend before quickly stepping out onto the ice. It seemed to hold his weight perfectly fine and Andy felt a little less worried about the situation. Andy could tell that Mark had not been out to skate in a very long time – he was flailing around like a newborn fawn. Andy laughed as she passed him, reaching the shore and sitting down to take off her boots so she could replace them with skates. In no time she was back on the ice and making comfortable and slow circles around her nephew.

"Try not pointing your toes together, just take longer strides." She chided him, skating no farther than the place she had checked earlier.

"That's easy for you to say," Mark muttered before facing his aunt. "Jack says that you're skating well." Andy chuckled, skating another lap around the area quickly.

"It's been a couple years, but this was one of my favorite things to do in the winter." Andy stopped near Mark once more. "Bending your knees wouldn't hurt either, Ace." Mark looked at her, he was finally able to come to a stop and found some balance in it.

"You and Jack make it look easy." He said, arms outstretched for balance. Andy smirked,

"Well, I should hope Jack skates well. Isn't this basically his job?" She began to skate backward using shorter strides.

"Jack says don't be such a smart ass." Andy's head shot in her nephew's direction, one eyebrow raised.

"I think _Jack_ can shove it where the sun doesn't shine." Mark laughed and promptly fell on his face. He shouted at Jack for shoving him and tried to get back up on his skates before laughing at his failed attempts. Andy laughed along with him, watching as the young boy flopped around. She skated over to him slowly before offering him a hand up. He gratefully took it, pointedly telling Jack that it wasn't that funny. Andy snorted, "Here, Ace. Let's try this out together. Maybe we can even race if you get good enough." She joked with him, lightly elbowing him.

"Yeah, let's not get ahead of ourselves."

Andy and Mark had spent a long time trying to teach Mark how to skate better. Andy wasn't sure how long they had been at it, but Mark had caught on quickly. He had just needed a few beginning pointers before he had really gotten the hang of it. There had been a lot of failed attempts of solo flights at first, and Andy was sure that Mark was going to have a bruised butt by the time they were done. A lot of jokes had been made at Mark's dispense, but apparently Jack had some pointers of his own for Mark to try. On more than one occasion Mark had informed her that Jack thought she was teaching him poorly and that he could do better. It was, after all, 'basically his job'. On more than one occasion Andy told Mark that Jack should basically stop being so butt hurt.

Looking at the sky, Andy could see that the sun had begun to dip down below the tree line. Looking at her phone, she could see that it was already coming up on six o'clock. Had they really been out there for almost an hour? Besides, the snow had started to accumulate on the ice. Mark had been in the middle of making his way around the area that Andy had deemed to be 'safe'. She shoved her phone into her coat pocket and skated towards Mark,

"Ace, I think it's time to get going. It's a little late and I wanted to be home by the time your mom got back from work." Mark looked a little disappointed but began to skate back to shore. Andy frowned, watching him getting ready to get off the ice. She sighed, "No, actually, how about that race? You were doing much better." It didn't take much convincing to get Mark back on the ice. Andy skated over to where he had been waiting, near the bank of the pond.

"How does two laps around sound?" asked Mark. Andy nodded,

"If you think you can beat me." She teased, slapping a hand on his back. Mark rolled his eyes at his aunt and started to count down from three. As soon as he got to one Andy sped off, but Mark wasn't far behind. Andy had made sure that she had gotten a good lead before looking back for her nephew; he as maybe five feet behind and trying his hardest to gain speed while having some balance. Andy slowed down a little, knowing how hard he had been working that day to become better at skating. She stayed ahead of him and not before long she had already made one full lap. Andy had been thinking about ways to console him afterwards when she saw Mark come up out of the corner of her eye and blaze past her. Almost coming to a stop in her daze, she quickly sped up and tried to catch her nephew. He had really gained speed, and all Andy could feel was the wind whipping at her face, slowing her down. She heard Mark laughing on the other side of the course, and Andy pushed harder than she thought she would ever have to in this race. Arms pumping and leaning into her strides, Andy almost caught up with her nephew, but he quickly passed the finish line, leaving her in second place and very confused.

"What happened back there?" Mark called from the edge of the pond as his aunt slowly skated up to him. Andy was obviously confused and still a little dazed from what had happened.

"I'm…not sure, Ace. When did you get so fast?" She asked and ran a hand through her hair, combing her bangs to the front with her fingers. Mark laughed,

"You said it yourself, I was doing better." Andy furrowed her brows.

"Yeah, yeah. I guess so." She said and sat on the ground to take off her skates. Mark did the same, laughing as he did so.

"Jack says maybe you're just getting old." Andy laughed,

"Maybe. But I'm still waiting for him to let me in on the secret to eternal youth. We can't all live forever."

* * *

As the two walked down the hill that lead to the pond, Andy considered how fast her nephew was able to skate. He must have really caught on quickly. She looked over at the boy, she realized that he had grown quite a bit from the last time she had visited. He may have been only 12, but he was almost as tall as she was. How time flies, she thought. Mark had revealed not that long after they had started walking that he may have had a little help from 'Jack' in the race, giving him a boost of speed thanks to the wind, while trying to slow her down. She played upset before laughing with him and telling him it was a great race, regardless.

It had been almost seven o'clock by the time that Andy realized she hadn't told her sister-in-law that they were out of the house. Andy reached for her back right pocket, but didn't find her phone in its normal space. She then checked her coat pockets. Coming to a stop, she rechecked her pockets one last time before it dawned on her that her phone had fallen out of her coat pocket during the race. Mark had stopped next to her,

"What's up?" Andy sighed heavily,

"God damn it," She grumbled and stopped herself before turning around to head back up the hill. Thankfully they hadn't gotten too far. "I must have dropped my phone at the pond." She stopped a few steps away and turned around, "You know the way back. Do you just want to go ahead without me?" Mark looked up to his aunt and back down at the path. He shrugged his shoulders before conferring with his friend,

"No, it's okay. I can come with." With that, the two trudged back up the hill in the still accumulating snow. Mark walked slowly and had stayed some ways back from Andy, saying that he wanted to spend more time with Jack before he had to leave. That was fine with her, she just needed to get to the pond quickly before the phone was lost in snow. As they came up to the clearing, she began retracing her footsteps. Mark had stood under the cover of the trees, talking with his imaginary friend while Andy tried to make quick work of her mission. After she determined it wasn't on the shore of the pond where they had removed their boots, she began to look out onto the ice. Dropping her skates on land, she began to slowly slide with her boots on the ice, sweeping in a wide circle, making sure to move the thin layer of snow as she went. It wasn't long before she had found it by following the path it had made in the snow as it must of flown out of her pocket. With a sigh of relief, she walked out past the border of where they had been skating.

"How did you get out here…" She asked quietly. With a shrug, she quickly stooped to her haunches and picked up the phone. It was at that point she heard the distinct sound of ice shifting followed by a loud and ominous cracking noise. In that one moment her smile vanished from her face and she stayed crouched and near the ice. With her gloved hand she slowly swept the snow below her feet away to reveal a large network of large and small cracks that continued to groan under her weight. Panic made her heart begin to race and her fingers become prickly. The ice in this area must not have been very thick at all, she thought as she tried to figure out a plan. As gently as she could she threw her phone as far away from her spot as she could. "Mark!" she called, wincing as the ice continued to moan. Slowly pivoting on her feet, she began to turn to face the shore. She could see Mark walking up to the shoreline, hands in pockets, about to step foot onto the ice. Andy put both of her gloved hands in front of her, signaling him to stop. As she tried to ease her way forward she could feel more of the ice crack under her. Grimacing she called out to him. "Don't come out here, it's cracking!" She could see Mark pale at the thought, hands coming out of his pockets.

"What do I do?" he called back to her, panic in his voice. Andy smiled,

"Hey, it's okay. I'm just going to," she tried to steady herself a little as she tried to move forward. The ice sent another threatening crack that made a lump form in her throat. "I'm just going to try and move..." Eyes on the ice and the spider web of cracks, she began to try and stand. "Mark, grab a long stick, anything I might be able to grab on to." She instructed as she moved one foot out from under her. The ice creaked and warned her not to move. She looked up and Mark was at the edge of the pond with the stick she had used earlier to test the safety of the ice. He was talking with his imaginary friend and she could hear Mark asking him what he needed to do. Taking a timid step towards her nephew, "Mark, I'm gonna need you to- ". With that another, much louder noise filled her ears. It was a mix of ice giving way, a scream and a plunge into water so cold she could barely describe it. She was able to keep her head above the water, but her attempts to hold onto the ice and use it as leverage as a way out were useless. The ice continued to break away, and she could feel the cold seeping into every bone. Using her legs, she tried to kick them and use that as a way up onto the ice, but she wasn't having luck. Trying to grip onto the continually breaking ice, she tried to stay afloat. "Mark!" she called as she spat out freezing water. Her mind went instantly back to when she almost drowned in the pond as a child. Panic and fear ran through her mind, legs becoming numb and weak while she struggled to keep her head above water. It was then that the end of a stick came into view and Andy immediately grabbed onto it. Using what little strength was left in her frozen legs, she could feel herself being pulled up and out of the hole while she kicked. Mark had been at the other end of the stick, lying flat on his stomach to disperse his weight. Once Andy's torso was on the ice, she quickly rolled away from the hole and stopped on her back near Mark. She laid there for a moment, out of breath and body wracked with immense shivers. She looked over at Mark, who had been looking just beyond her, as he moved to help her off of the ice.

"Jack says we need to get you home, fast." Andy nodded, purple-tinged lips quivering and teeth chattering. Once on shore, she stooped to pick up her skates and cell phone.

"Mark," she whispered between the chattering of her teeth, "You shouldn't have come out onto the ice. It wasn't safe." Mark shook his head,

"I had to help. What was I going to do, let you drown? Besides, Jack told me what to do every step of the way. He also says that he is _so_ _sorry_. He didn't know-" Andy laughed quietly,

"Then tell Jack thanks too."

* * *

The walk home may have only taken a few minutes but for Andy it felt much longer. Her pants had become rigid with ice and her shivering hadn't stopped yet. She didn't think she was nearing any sort of major hypothermia; her shivering hadn't stopped, she could walk relatively well, and as far as the conversation with Mark was going, it seemed she didn't suffer from speech impairment or confusion. She moved slowly, but it wasn't long before they were at the back door of the house.

"Aunt Andy, Jack and I think that you really need to go to the hospital. You could have hypother-" Andy held up a shaking hand.

"I'm _fine_ _,_ Mark. If it gets worse, then I'll go." With that she opened the door and stepped inside, dropping her skates and taking off her coat. "Now, I'm going to go upstairs and crawl under my blankets. If you want to help, grab a couple extra and throw them on my bed. And if you could warm up some towels or something, that will help bring up my temperature." Mark sighed and turned to his imaginary friend,

"Jack, can you please just stay with her?" He stayed silent for a moment, "I know she's not a child, but I'm worried…How about just for a little while? I want to make sure she doesn't get sick." With that he took off his shoes and waited another moment while Andy walked over to the counter to get some warm tea, having trouble pouring the liquid into the cup from her shivers. " _See what I mean_ ," Mark hissed at the air beside him. "Thank you, Jack. I really appreciate it." Andy turned and watched Mark as he ran to the closet for extra blankets before taking off for the spare bedroom.

"I'm fine." Andy muttered to herself as she turned to slowly walk up the stairs, trying her best to not spill the warm drink that she held in both her hands.

As Andy rounded the corner of the stairs, Mark passed her by and told her that he was going to hang out in his room if she needed him and gave Jack another thanks for keeping an eye on her. Andy had been too preoccupied in her thoughts about a warm bed to pay her nephew much attention. Walking into the room, she put her tea on the table beside her bed and went back to close the door. Turning, she quickly began to remove her soaking and cold clothes in exchange for dry night clothes. She walked slowly to the bathroom only to be surprised by how pale she looked. Fumbling with the medicine cabinet, she pulled out the thermometer and stuck it under her tongue while she walked back to the bed. Pausing by the bed she pulled out the thermometer as it beeped – 96 degrees Fahrenheit. Just above hypothermic. Good, she thought. The last thing she needed was to make a trip to the ER on her vacation. Crawling into the bed, she took a few sips of her warm tea before snuggling down into the mountain of comforters. Strategically placing the warm washcloths that Mark brought up, she sighed and rubbed her head. She had been feeling a little warmer and her shivers were easing, but she had begun to feel tired from all of the day's events. With the warmth of the towels and blankets, Andy fell asleep quickly and soundly.

* * *

_She had been dreaming of nothing in particular, of a day with some random no one in a café she had never been to. A forgettable dream. But amidst the chattering and din of the eatery, she began to hear a wonderful and soothing song pick up. It was unlike anything she had heard before and it inspired a feeling of comfort. Getting up from her table, she made her way to the door of the café, intent on finding where this enchanting music had been coming from. Once outside, the scenery changed. Once a street lined with cars, now it was an open field with beautiful wildflowers and the scent of sweet summer. In the field was a small girl who seemed to be swaying and dancing with the music. Smiling to herself, she joined the young girl and began to sway with her, the power of the song taking over her. Filled with content, she noticed another, older, girl join them. It had been obvious that this darker girl had been following the sounds as well. As the new girl turned to her, she felt something strike a discord within her. The music had begun to take a sour note, almost curdling the song. Looking around, she could still see the two girls now joining hands and dancing together, but the world around them was changing. What was once a peaceful meadow was turning grey and foreboding. Opening her mouth to warn the children, her voice caught in her throat. No sound could be heard except for the now sinister song being played._

With a jolt, Andy shot up in bed. Covered in sweat and still under the pile of blankets, she swore she could still hear the song from her dream still drifting through the air. Getting up to rinse her face, she grounded herself in the moment. It was only a nightmare, she convinced herself. Nothing more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what do you think? Let me know! Reviews help me see where you guys are coming from and what you're thinking about.


	4. One-Sided Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A young woman returns home for the holidays and is introduced to her niece and nephew's imaginary friend. At first, it's a game, but could this 'Jack' be real? And when something goes terribly wrong, will she be able to turn to him for help?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys. Tragedy. My USB that has all of my important documents (this fic, the pictures of my dad before he died, etc.) took its last blink and died on me. So I had to rewrite this whole damn thing. It was originally going to be chapters one, two and three all jammed into one, but I've wasted so much energy trying to rewrite this that I'm just going to split them up. At least the next chapter will be all new content. Bear with me guys, I'll get everything going again. And this is a little over eight pages, which isn't too bad!

For Jack, it had been a pretty good day so for. He had just finished giving the New England area a healthy layer of much-needed snow, in his opinion. He planned to head straight to Norway, but the promise of a snowball fight with his group of first believers made him divert back to Burgess. They could always use more snow, right? It didn't matter he had been there just a day ago. Calling out to the wind to change course, he sped past New York and northern Pennsylvania in little time, knowing the way back home like the back of his hand. He loved the feeling of the wind whipping at his face, it always had a nice cool and fresh smell to it as well. A smile plastered on his forever young features, he dove in and out of the clouds, flying near birds making their final treks south, and being blown about however the wind felt necessary.

As Burgess came into view, he could see his mark still clearly on the town. It didn't take long to find the park that he knew the children would have all gathered for the snowball fight. There had already been a good number there, and it seemed like Jamie did not skimp on finding recruits. A good number of children saw him before he landed pointing up to the sky and ready to pounce on him. He laughed as he touched down, multiple children running up to him to tell him of their day so far or to thank him for the snow. It still dazed him most days, that so many could now see him – thank him for what he did every day. He had spotted Jamie out immediately and made his way over to the boy when the others were done greeting him.

"Hey, Jack! Long time, no see." Jamie joked with the spirit.

"Yeah, haha." Jack rolled his eyes theatrically, smiling as he did so. He had always had a soft spot for Jamie, his very first believer. "Are you ready for this fight?" Jack announced to the group of children, who, in turn, cheered. Jamie was laughing but shook his head.

"We're still waiting on a few to show up." He said as he peered around the park to see if any of his friends were already there and walking up. "We've already built some forts and walls; we were just waiting on the ammo." Jamie said pointedly towards Jack. Jack puffed out his chest,

"Oh, I see how it is. Just here to make the ammo." Jamie laughed and nudged him as Jack left to go make quick work of the remaining piece of the game. As he finished, he heard Jamie call out to a friend of his. Jack turned to watch the boy jog over to the newcomer, a boy followed by a younger girl and a young woman. Before he could stop himself, he groaned. Nine times out of ten, adults ruined what fun he had with children. They shit on his parade, to be honest. Since they couldn't see him, they discounted what fun the children were having. Making his way over the group of kids, he caught the tail end of the conversation.

"Yeah! That's no problem! That would make it even for girls versus boys!" Pippa said before motioning the other girls and going to stand behind the young woman. The young woman tried to give an excuse but was quickly shut down by the group of boys.

"Yeah, we've got Jack! There's no way you could beat him!" Jack swelled with pride a little and cheered on with the group of boys as they rallied behind their team. The young woman raised her eyebrow and looked over the boy's team.

"Okay, boys, your funeral." She turned to the group of girls behind her. "Alright, ladies! Show me where our great fort is, and we shall slaughter the competition!" The girl's team gave a cheer and lead the way to their side of the battlefield. Alright, Jack thought. Maybe this could be fun.

Jack had leisurely walked back to the fort with the boys, who had been throwing ideas around about how to beat the girls. Despite his warning, although he wasn't sure they took it seriously, they were not concerned with a strategy to beat them. They would wing it and win because 'it was a bunch of girls'. To be fair, with the Spirit of Winter on their side, he didn't foresee a chance of the other team winning either. Looking off to the other side of the park, he could see the young woman animatedly talking with her team. Every so often the girls would laugh or nod. Jamie had begun walking to the middle of the field towards the young woman, who had apparently been nominated as the team leader. Exchanging words and shaking hands, they both headed back to their respective forts, getting ready to give the order to charge.

"What'd she say?" Caleb asked from the back of the group while picking up snow and packing another snowball.

"She wants to see us try and stop them," Jamie replied, shooting a smirk in Jack's direction. Jack laughed and got ready to begin the assault,

"How is she going to beat something she can't see coming?"

A battle cry came from the other side of the park, and the other team split into smaller factions, taking different paths through the course. Jack had watched the older girl dart from wall to wall, crouching and laughing as she went. Determination was set on her face, but she kept an eye on her teammates, only taking a few opportunities to launch snowballs at the other children. Focusing on making ammo for a moment, he had missed the young woman take out Caleb. Hearing Jamie cry the boy's name, Jack's eyes darted between who was still left on the battlefield. Cathy, the youngest on the other team, had been next, struck in the side by Claude. He had watched as Monty tried to sneak up on the woman's position, crouched behind one of the crude walls that the other kids had built. Jack had taken to the air, watching as the young woman chanced a glance and saw Monty approaching. Before he could warn the kid, she sent a quick and accurate ball hurtling towards the boy. Monty laid down dejectedly, letting out a frustrated whine as he did so. Jack laughed, rushing forward as he went to peg another of the opposing team. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the young woman rush out from behind the wall, yelling as she did so, throwing multiple snowballs and taking out Claude in the process. Now, normally Jack wouldn't get too involved in snowball fights, it was almost not fair. But he knew he had to take out the young woman, she had been responsible for too many of the casualties on his side. Taking a quick aim, he launched a snowball that collided with her chest. Gurgling and making awful and pitiful noises, the young woman clutched her chest with a pained look on her face, causing a huge scene. She yelled to her comrades to carry on without her before falling to her knees and lying down on the ground. Jack couldn't help but laugh at how absurd she had been, putting up a good act. He was surprised that an adult was having this much fun with the local kids. This had turned into a much better pitch than he had first thought it would, and in his mirth, he had caused a light snow to begin to fall. Turning in his spot to face the oncoming enemy, he was blindsided by a snowball to the side of his face. Taken back by the fact that someone had actually knocked him out of the game, he followed the rules of war and laid down on the ground. It had been Cupcake that had gotten him, but she was soon hit as well, in the midst of her victory dance. She laid down next to the young woman, who had congratulated her and gave her a fist bump. Cupcake laughed and looked over to him, a huge smile plastered on her face. He gave her an encouraging smile and a thumbs up before he went to focus on the rest of the game.

Jamie's team had been hurting, and it was becoming ever more obvious that the girls were going to win. Soon Jamie was by himself and didn't stand a chance as Rebecca and Pippa raced towards him, Rebecca landing the final shot. At the end of the game, the ladies all huddled around, applauding their work.

"Great job, guys! I knew you could do it!" He could hear the young woman said, giving her team high fives all around. They welcomed the boys into the group as well, who didn't seem too hurt by the fact that they had lost. Jack laughed, landing next to Jamie. "Good game, gentlemen. Well played." She said and shook Jamie's hand once more.

"I didn't think they'd put up such a good fight," Jack said more to himself that to the group.

"That was awesome! Jack says he didn't expect you to put up such a good fight!" Jamie shouted and turned to look at Jack.

"Hey!" Jack went to defend himself but was interrupted by the girl.

"Yeah, well, I'd like to meet this kid." She laughed. "You guys did well." Jack had become accustomed to not being seen. But after the game and the seemingly magical appearing snowballs, he still felt a little disappointed in not being seen. He shook it off quickly as Mark realized that his aunt couldn't see him.

"Sorry, Ace. Afraid I can't." She apologized.

"Hey, Mark. It's okay. Adults can't see me anyway." Jack said as he stood next to the kid. "But, I wouldn't have gotten hit if it hadn't been for you, being so distracting after I hit you with that snowball." Mark dutifully repeated what he said for her. She looked surprised before she laughed,

"Please, our plan was flawless." Jack laughed himself, pointing a finger at the woman,

"Hey, you caught me off guard." He moved closer to her, and he could see her shiver. He wasn't surprised, she had only come out in jeans and a sweatshirt.

"Yes, well, tell your friend I'll be here all week if he wants a rematch." She said defiantly.

"Is that a promise? I could kick your butt any day of the week." Jack goaded and playfully glared, letting Mark speak for him. He had walked up next to her while the kids laughed at the bickering, joining in with them. But as soon as he did, the young woman's head snapped to the side he was standing on, searching for something. His pulse quickened for a moment. Had she heard him? She seemed to shake off whatever she had thought and checked her watch. She laughed for a moment with them,

"Yeah, it's a promise. But we should be getting back." She said. Jack turned to walk back to where the group of children was. She had been right; it was probably getting awfully cold for the children. As if on cue, parents turned up and started calling for their respective child. With that, most of the children began to wander home.

Jack had walked alongside Jamie, content on hanging out with his first believer before he went to spread snow in Norway. They had talked about how Jamie's school was going, and what his plans were for the holiday. Jamie's fascination with mythological beings and anything supernatural hadn't waned in the years that Jack had known him, and he was still just as excited for North to visit and to lose his next tooth so he could see the Tooth Fairy once again.

"Hey, so, when we get to my house, do you want to meet me upstairs? I can ask my mom when I can come out again." Jamie asked as he raced ahead, pulling his cap down onto his head a little lower. Jack smiled,

"Sure, kiddo. Race you there?" Jack asked, letting Jamie get a head start. He then leisurely took off for the boy's house, quickly spotting the window he needed to get into. Once inside, Jack looked around the boy's room. Although Jamie didn't seem to change too much, his room sure had. It amazed Jack just how much the boy could change within the span of a year. Once his walls were covered in crayon drawings and posters of cartoons. Now there were movie posters, drawings that had shown Jamie's skill had grown since he had last seen him. Pictures of his friends were littered around the room, along with the mess that goes with a young boy. Jack chuckled to himself, letting his staff lean on in the crook of his neck while he looked over some of the drawings Jamie had made. Outside of the room he could hear Jamie slowly coming up the stairs. If he were a betting man, Jack would say that Jamie had been told that he had to stay inside. Probably for the rest of the day. As if on cue, Jamie opened the door with hunched shoulders,

"Mom says I can't go outside for the rest of the day. She says it's supposed to get too cold later." Jack smirked, right on the money.

"That's okay. I have to go to Norway, anyway. Job to do, and all." Jack joked, turning to watch Jamie go to sit on his bed.

"Will you be coming back after?" Jack nodded,

"Yep," he popped, "Probably by tomorrow, even." Jamie smiled, although Jack could tell that he wasn't nearly as excited as he had been not ten minutes earlier.

"Okay, well. Mom wants me downstairs for lunch. I'll see you tomorrow then?" Jack smiled,

"Tomorrow."

* * *

Jack hadn't made it out of the block before he had seen Mark, Cathy and the young woman walking to the door of their house. As he landed, he could hear Mark call her his 'Aunt Andy'. Her name was Andy, then. Putting a name to the face helped. Mark had seen Jack almost instantly, rushing over to him mid-sentence.

"Hey. Hope you had fun today," Jack said as he landed with a small hop. Mark and Cathy were all smiles,

"Yeah! It was the best!" Mark answered while Cathy went to give Jack a small hug. Jack chuckled before he remembered,

"Jamie's not going to be coming back out, his mom is keeping him inside today." Mark frowned but turned to his aunt and told her what was happening. Jack looked up to see her push open the front door.

"That's okay, we can always play tomorrow." She motioned for the kids to go into the house, "Come on, let's go get that hot chocolate. Does Jack want some?" Mark looked at him expectantly, Cathy giving him puppy dog eyes just behind her brother. Jack shrugged. He could spare a couple minutes.

"Yeah, I can come in for a couple minutes. But I have to leave soon." He said as he followed the children into the house. Mark had told his aunt what he said, and she looked a little confused but let it alone. How long until she started actually asking questions and stopped playing along? Walking into the foyer of the house, Jack didn't wait to follow Mark into the living room, making himself at home on the far end of the couch. He had heard Mark's aunt ask if he was in the house yet only to be told that he was already sitting on the couch. Andy laughed, asking about why he hadn't taken his shoes off. Cathy gave her a confused look and told her he didn't wear any, and then went on to laugh at her when she asked if his feet got cold. Jack chuckled as well, leaning his staff on the side of the couch while slinging an arm across the couch, bringing his left ankle to rest on his right knee. He threw a smirk as Mark who had jogged into the living room to sit next to him, wiggling his toes to emphasise the joke. Mark looked as if he was going to say something before his aunt had called to him from the kitchen,

"Hey, guys! Pick out a movie to watch? Something suitable for Cathy, Mark." She leaned out from the kitchen to give a look at Mark. Jack watched as the boy got up and looked through the drawer of movies that were under the television. Jack glanced down at his foot that was still propped up. Pale like the rest of him, they hadn't ever seemed to get too dirty. He had always chalked it up to being a spirit. Back in the late 1880s, Jack had tried to get into wearing shoes – he had always wondered if it was worth it, swiping a pair from an inattentive cobbler. Yet he never could stand wearing them; they made his feet ache and he felt confined. He enjoyed the feeling of cool snow under his feet and loved the balance that no shoes gave him.

"Can you let her know I like milk and not water in my hot cocoa?" Jack asked suddenly, his attention back on the boy who had continued to search for a movie.

"No problem! Jack says he likes his hot chocolate with milk and not water." Tilting his head back, he could see Andy prepping the drinks, putting milk into the microwave. She snorted, keeping her eyes trained on the machine,

"What does he think we are, heathens?" Jack laughed loudly, he liked her backtalk. It was refreshing to 'communicate' with someone a little older than the children he normally spent time with. He saw her poke her head out from the kitchen, glancing around the living room like she was looking for something. Shaking her head slightly, she went back to the beeping microwave. What was that all about? She had done the same thing when they were at the park earlier as well. Andy, he had to remind himself of her name, quickly came out carrying three steaming cups. Asking here Jack was sitting, she placed one in front of him and gave the children their cups. While she was passing everything out, Mark had put in a DVD and started to play the movie, only to make Jack groan. Of course it had to be Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Even if he didn't have television to watch it, Jack had seen the movie played over and over again from store fronts and people's living room sets. Trying to not watch the movie, he noticed that Andy had sat in front of Cathy without a drink in hand.

"Why isn't your aunt having any hot cocoa?" Jack asked, uncrossing his leg.

"She can't drink milk." Cathy giggled at him like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Jack mouthed 'oh' and nodded.

"It's not really living without it." Andy turned to look at the little girl,

"What Cathy?"

"Oh, Jack asked why you weren't drinking hot chocolate too. He says it's not really living without it." Their aunt stood and stretched for a moment,

"It's not so bad." She laughed, "I'm going to go change out of my wet clothes." She walked passed Jack and shivered slightly. "Did one of you guys open a window? Do you guys have a draft in here?" She asked as she looked around the room for the culprit.

"No, you just walked by Jack." Mark shook his head at her question. Oh, here it goes, Jack thought. He had run into situations like this before, especially when he was in someone's house. However, it was always great to see someone's reaction to the situation.

"Tell her that, before she asks, no I'm not a ghost," Mark repeated what he said, cutting his aunt's question off.

"How do you know I was gonna-" She started.

"And that I've heard it before. I'm just cold because I bring winter and snow." Mark also relayed this to her. Trying to laugh it off, he could tell, she announced she was going then and left for upstairs quickly, leaving Jack chuckling in her wake. As soon as he saw her get to the top step, he went to pick up his mug and take a sip. He let it cool down a little at his touch, preferring the temperature be lower – his tolerance for warmth wasn't as high as normal people. Bringing the cup up to his lips and taking a sip, he quickly let the liquid fall out of his mouth and back into the cup. He heard Mark start laughing at him,

"Yeah, it isn't the best. But she tries?" Jack shot him a look,

"Not the best? It's like drinking straight cocoa powder. And salt." He made a face and put the mug back down on the table, smacking his tongue on the roof of his mouth to get the taste to go away. "Why were you guys so excited to drink this stuff?" Jack looked between Mark and the now dozing Cathy.

"We take what we can get?" Mark asked, taking another sip of his hot cocoa. Jack's nose wrinkled in disgust as he put his cup back down.

"That is desperate." This earned Jack a playful shove from Mark as Andy came jogging down the steps. Looking to his left, he could see her descend the last few steps. She had changed into a loose shirt and tight fitting pants.

"How old are you, Aunt Andy?" Mark asked as she walked in front of the couch and sat down less than gracefully on the floor, pulling her hair up into a messy bun on top of her head.

"Twenty, twenty-one in a few days."

"Tell her I say happy early birthday," Jack said and leaned back into the couch, leg still propped on his knee. Mark dutifully told her and took another sip of that horrible cocoa.

"Thanks, Jack. You going to come to the party Friday?" she asked as she looked in his direction, eyes trained on his chest. Well, at least she was trying, Jack thought with a smirk.

"What time should I be here?" Jack asked as Mark paraphrased. Andy looked at Mark and then back to where Jack was seated. Jack gave a small eye roll, her eyes again trained on his chest. How short did she think he was?

"Well, I think the cake and ice cream is going to be around six?" Andy said with a smile. Jack nodded slightly, he could try and swing by for a little bit and say hi to the kids in town while he was there.

"Yeah, I can try and make it." Mark looked at him and grinned in excitement.

"Yeah! Jack says he'll try and be here! It's gonna be so much fun, Jack! Mom said we get to do a piñata!" Mark quickly stopped and gave a small gasp and covered his mouth, eyes quickly falling to his aunt.

"A piñata, hm?" She asked as Mark soon began to cover his tracks – it was meant to be a surprise. Jack and Andy both laughed, Andy punching her nephew's shoulder lightly,

"It's no biggie, I'll make sure to act surprised." Mark sighed and laughed nervously and looked to Jack,

"I can't wait," Jack said politely. To be honest, he wasn't sure he'd even stay long if he could go. What was he going to do at an adult's birthday party? The promise of watching a grown woman swing blindly at a piñata had been and entertaining idea, he had to admit.

"Thanks, Aunt Andy. Jack says he can't wait either."

"What do you mean that Jack needed to bring winter and make more snow?" Andy had asked after a moment, eyes not focused. Jack nodded knowingly, it was bound to come up sooner or later.

"I was wondering when you were going to ask," he said and stared, considering her for a moment. He looked to Mark, motioning for him to go ahead and explain things.

"He says he was wondering when you were going to ask. He's Jack Frost, he makes winter." Andy quickly looked to her nephew.

"That's why he's cold, isn't it?" she asked and both Mark and Jack nodded. "Why does he say adults can't see him?" she watched as Mark got up and took his cup to the kitchen.

"It's because you don't believe in him." She grabbed Cathy's cup and joined her nephew in the kitchen. Jack turned his head to the side to listen to the conversation unfold in the next room.

"What do you mean?" she had asked, and Mark explained how belief in Jack and the Guardians worked. When Jack didn't hear Andy respond, he craned his neck to see that she looked at a loss for words.

"Let her know that it's okay, I've gotten used to it." Mark did as Jack asked, Andy considering this as she rinsed out the cup she was holding.

"That's kinda sad," she said quietly, "I mean, not being seen by adults." Jack shrugged his shoulders, turning his head back towards the living room.

"It's not so bad." Mark also repeated this, adding some of his own thoughts as he jumped onto the couch next to Jack. Jack shot him a look but didn't say anything. Andy rolled her eyes as she followed into the living room, smirking.

"I thought he had fun today, and _I'm_ an adult." Jack laughed lightly at Mark's expense, who waved his aunt off and snorted. "Hey, wait here a second, I'll be right back." With that, Andy quickly turned in her spot and disappeared upstairs. Jack watched her go, turning to Mark when she had gone out of sight. Jack had opened his mouth to say something, but behind him, he heard Andy rush back down the stairs, and felt the air next to his left ear move as an object barely missed his head. Turning to the young woman, he called out, a frown etched on his face and hand covering his ear that nearly was taken off. Not a second later, another box came soaring towards Jack and he was able to quickly move his head out of the way before he was slapped with what was clearly a box of colored pencils. His cries falling on deaf ears, Andy turned and went into another room, unaware of what had happened. Mark laughed at his friend as he set the boxes down on the couch in between them. It didn't take long for Andy to come back with a small stack of blank papers in hand, making sure to push the coffee table closer to Mark as she went to sit down at the end of the table, just inches away from where Jack was sitting.

"How about you draw a picture of Jack? It's not fair he knows what I look like and I haven't a clue what he looks like." Realization hit Jack, and a small 'oh' escaped him as Mark began to work on the drawing. Leaning towards Mark, Jack watched the boy and his art unfold. Unfolding his legs and leaning in on his knees with his elbows, it wasn't long before Jack could see his likeness, and it wasn't half bad. He had barely noticed Andy when she had spoken up a curious look on her face, eyebrow cocked. "How old is Jack, Mark?" Jack regarded her for a moment. She had also leaned onto the table, trying to get a better view of the picture. She was merely an inch or two away from brushing shoulders with the winter spirit.

"I physically look around eighteen or so, but I'm actually around 320 years old," Jack said to her, eyes never leaving her face, waiting for her reaction. Both of Andy's eyebrows were now raised in surprise, her forehead crinkled. "Stop making that face," Jack said with a smirk, "You'll give yourself wrinkles." He watched as her mouth became slack, staying slightly open for a moment.

"Well, tell him to let me in on the secret to eternal youth. He's lookin' good for over three hundred." Jack chuckled deeply, not expecting her answer. Most adults would have brushed it off or ignored what he said, disregarding the drawing as a creative figment of the imagination. What had caught him off guard was Andy's sudden reaction to his laugh and her stare in his direction, obviously looking for something. Their faces were only a few inches apart, yet she was unaware of their proximity. Had she heard him? Her eyes scanned the area one more time before looking back to the drawing, but Jack felt his heart skip in hope. More to himself than to anyone else, Jack gave a low whisper,

"Did you hear me?" he wondered quietly. Almost in response, Andy took the picture up into her hands as she leaned back a little and pointed to the drawing,

"Why does he have a staff?"

"It helps me focus my powers," Jack continued to speak to her directly. After Mark responded for him, she was quiet for a moment as she continued to look at the drawing.

"Over snow and ice…He is not at all what I thought he'd look like." Jack gave her a confused and amused look. Leaning back into the couch, he asked,

"What did you expect?" Andy chuckled as she handed the drawing back to Mark,

"I don't know, maybe like that old cartoon? Pointy ears and shoes with an adorable hat?" Jack's smile fell, the humor drained from his face.

"I hate that stupid cartoon." he said as the temperature around him dropped unintentionally. Mark laughed along with his aunt at Jack's response. Andy stood and turned to pick Cathy up,

"Well, me thinks Jack needs to get over it - it's a cute movie." Jack groaned as Mark barked a laugh at his expense. Jack rolled his eyes and playfully shoved the boy.

"What? She said it was cute!" Andy just shook her head and scooped the little girl up into her arms and headed for the stairs. After Mark's laughter died down a little, which Jack had taken apart in, Jack chanced a glance outside. It had gotten to be later than he had intended, and he needed to be getting a move on if he was going to make it to Norway on time. Sighing and standing, he stretched and went to grab his staff that he had been leaning on the side of the couch.

"Are you leaving, Jack?" Mark asked as he joined him in standing. Jack nodded,

"Yeah, sorry. I really have to start heading towards Norway." Mark looked a little dejected but nodded all the same.

"Okay. Do you know when you'll be back?" Jack nodded slightly as he and the boy headed towards the back porch door.

"I'm going to try and be in town tomorrow if everything goes well." Jack smiled and turned to the boy, who's hand was on the door handle. Mark nodded, a small smile on his face as they stepped outside together.

"I'll see you tomorrow!" Mark said as Jack had begun to call on the wind. As Jack lifted off the ground in a gust of a strong wind, he looked back to see Mark waving him off. Waving back and laughing loudly, Jack spiraled higher into the sky, easily losing himself in the clouds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys! I know it's the first chapter over again, but I really wanted to get some Jack perspective going. Also, the next two chapter will be from Jack's perspective too. Hope you're ready!
> 
> As always, let me know what you guys think!
> 
> AmmyPie

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what your thoughts were!


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